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Service areas where I live don’t crop up every 5 miles ..more like every 20 -30 miles ..so how do you know he didn’t intend pulling off the motorway at the next available service area ..or for that matter at the next available exit ?
Your opinion is extremely unreasonable & harsh
I don't think it's harsh. I mean, people on this thread are saying this situation requires a 999 call. It may or may not, but if you are causing people to call out the emergency services then 'idiot' might apply.
It comes down to your own physiology. Yes, a wave of intense tiredness can come on suddenly, but not THAT suddenly. It doesn't happen at 9am. Or on a sunny afternoon drive. It's predictable to an extent - like after a long day, you're already pretty tired, it's dark, you've got 100 miles to do. And we've probably all done it once, and thought 'God, I won't do that again'.
You're taking a calculated risk, when you're tired and get on the motorway, based on what you know about your own body. And then a further calculated risk, every time you go past a services and decide to press on.
So if you find yourself halfway between services, and a wave of tiredness hits, what it actually means is that 10ish minutes ago, when you went past the last stop, you thought 'no, I'm fine for a while yet' - and you were hopelessly, wildly wrong. You were cutting it way too fine and have now ****ed it up. It's the kind of mistake that you shouldn't be making as a driver. You just shouldn't. Because IMO the aim of the game isn't to walk right up to the line of extreme tiredness and then pull back, it's to make sure you don't get anywhere near it in the first place.
So I think if you're trying to cut it fine, and you get it wrong, and find yourself dropping off and drifting out of your lane, and strangers are wondering whether to call 999 to ensure that no-one dies, 'idiot' is fair. If your plan is just to wait until you are that tired, and THEN look for the next services, 'idiot' isn't strong enough.
Sorry for essay. But I do get a bit of a bee in my bonnet about it.
*(but i do have sympathy for people like doctors who could get put in those situations and it's not really under their control).
I have always had an issue driving on the motorway around 4pm - it seems to be a real low point in my rhythm- Ok in the city or back roads but Motorway or long A roads I avoid or just wait till after 5pm.
Wouldn't hesitate to call 999 if someone was weaving over the road - could be drunk and tired!